


At Least We'll Get Hurt Trying

by Gay_as_fuck



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Diamond & Pearl & Platinum | Pokemon Diamond Pearl Platinum Versions
Genre: Anxiety, Anxiety Attacks, Character Growth, Character Study, Friendship, Gen, Self Confidence Issues, Self-Worth Issues, barry thinks he's a terrible friend, lucas thinks he's a terrible friend, they are both wonderful for each other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-10
Updated: 2017-02-10
Packaged: 2018-09-23 08:51:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,973
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9648719
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gay_as_fuck/pseuds/Gay_as_fuck
Summary: There are terrible things in the world and Barry has promised himself to protect Lucas from all of them. Both end up protecting each other in different ways and different times.(or Barry was made for kind words and Lucas was made for history)





	

**Author's Note:**

> this is shitty and i did not edit it but i had to write it out because i got the idea. title from a regina spektor song "firewood" which is basically the soundtrack to this fic

His mother had always described him as a nervous boy. His teachers did the same, explaining that he was so shy that in school he couldn't make any friends. As a young child Lucas would sometimes go days without speaking a word even when promoted. From the first grade to the fourth grade teachers told his parents "He'll grow out of it". He didn't grow out of it. 

By the time he was ten he had somehow acquired one friend, a rather talkative boy by the name of Barry. Barry was always moving a mile a minute, ready for the next adventure. He was a troublemaker, though not because of any hate of authority. He simple was a whirlwind of a boy and couldn't seem to stay in his own lane. He was the opposite of Lucas, loud and brash with a love of the outdoors along with an inability to shut up.

It was a marvel that the two befriended each other. 

One would expect their friendship to go something along the lines of this; Barry has an idea and drags Lucas along with him. Barry does something that forces an annoyed Lucas out of his comfort zone and as a result Lucas grows a larger comfort zone. However that was in no way their dynamic. Despite how caught up in himself he seemed Barry was always ready to do things Lucas couldn't.

The first time the two had gone out to eat on their own and the waiter had asked Lucas something he had froze up. Barry however had remembered his friend's order and was quick to tell the waiter what they needed. He didn't tell Lucas to 'man up' afterward or anything. He had simply smiled reassuringly at his friend which he reinforced by saying "Leave it to me".

Barry was one to drag Lucas along with his stupid ideas but they rarely involved Lucas getting out of his comfort zone. Everything that happened was on Barry and if things went wrong Barry took all the blame. To the world Barry was a self centered mess of a boy who couldn't slow down enough for anyone. Lucas noticed that his friend would never run out of site or anywhere dangerous without him. If Lucas came down with a cough one day the next Barry would have a full bag of Lucas' favorite cough drops in his bag. Lucas couldn't have asked for a more accepting friend. 

Lucas tried to do the same. If Barry was uncomfortable doing something Lucas knew that he would do it instead. The only problem was that Barry never seemed uncomfortable or afraid. If Barry came down with something Lucas would look to his pockets only to find he didn't have anything to help and it would slip his mind the next day as well. He was always there with Barry however, giving his friend as much attention as he could.

When they were thirteen and Barry had the terrible idea of going to see the Pokemon professor a town over Lucas was at his side. Lucas's nerves were freaking out of course for he had heard stories of the stone cold professor from other kids in his classes. The stories had, of course, been exaggerated yet that didn't make Rowan any less terrifying to meet. The Professor had eyes like iron that stared deeper into Lucas' soul that he would have liked.

The man yelled at them first, telling them how terrible of an idea that had been. After that though he had made them an offer and to Lucas that was the scary part, the man did things he didn't expect.

During the older man's rant Barry shot glances at Lucas only to see his friend shaking. Barry took that as a sign to take as much of the attention off of his friend as he could. He clutched his own shaking hands tight and fixed a smile on his face.

He let his words tumble out and talked Rowan's ear off, trying to make sure the man's eyes were on him and not his anxious friend. It worked somewhat and the two walked away tense but happy. Rowan was not really a man either wanted to speak with all that much, his eyes were hot coals and his feet had never once faltered. Both were terrified of him.

When Lucas' mother suggested to him that he should go thank the professor he knew at once that he would never be able to make it through the lab doors without Barry at the lead. He felt terrible for forcing Barry to do all the bad and uncomfortable things because he couldn't bring himself to do them. He knew what Barry would say if he told him that, something like he shouldn't worry because it's not a problem.

That didn't really help but the idea was what mattered.

He met up with Barry on the outskirts of town and Barry challenged him. Barry told him that if they were really going to do this that they were going to have to be rivals like in all the stories they heard as children. Except instead of it being two people who hated each other they were going to be friends supporting each other and getting stronger.

"Let's flip that trope on its head!"

Lucas won, just barely and though a flame of bitterness licked at Barry's chest he didn't let it show and he smiled. He realized that he was just being stupid and decided, like most of his negative feelings, he could just ignore it.

The two made their way joking and laughing to Sandgem Town where they learned, to their relief, that the Professor was out. Lucas was glad to delay another meeting with Rowan but Barry knew that if he didn't thank the man his mom would give him hell. Lucas gave Barry a soft smile and the two headed out to the lake front. 

There they found two terrifying things. They found Team Galactic who left Lucas trembling in his boots and Barry itching with the shameful urge to run away. They met Rowan there as well, but this time they saw blades in his eyes as he sent Team Galactic running. What scared Barry the most was that while his daughter had been ready to fight and he and Lucas had been trembling his feet stayed firmly planted.

He was a terrifying man and after thanking him Barry and Lucas left as quickly as they could. When Barry suggested the idea of splitting up and traveling alone Lucas almost stopped in his tracks. The idea of having to be alone was terrifying to him. He didn't want to leach off of Barry's kindness forever though so he took a small shaky breath and told Barry that it was a plan.

Once Barry had rushed out of sight he spent thirty minutes trying not to vomit into a bush at the idea of having no one to rely on. He figured that having to do this himself was what everyone would want for him. His teachers had always told his mom that he was going to learn how to do things on his own. He stood up from where he was crouched behind a bush and forced himself to remember that he just had to make it to the next town over.

There he would meet up with Barry and he could be comfortable for a little while. 

Barry had suggested the idea of splitting up because he was terrified of something happening to Lucas. If something happened to them while they were traveling together and Lucas got hurt then it would be his fault for running. He always felt like running away from things that hurt. He hated it but if he was alone then no one would get hurt and he wouldn't have to worry.

Maybe he would get strong enough so that he wasn't scared of anything anymore. 

In the end they only met up three times to fight and then they were off traveling alone again. Lucas found that he could enjoy the peace and quite of slowly walking alone a road with no need to catch up with his friend. Barry found himself relieved that he didn't have to do twice the talking anymore. They wanted to get stronger, and somewhere in their head they had the idea that being strong means being alone. 

So they kept their distance from each other, and for the most part tried to enjoy their loneliness. Lucas panicked more with no one to help him and Barry found himself bitter and talking to the wind because it seemed no one else really cared about him but Lucas. When they met up again it was to take down Team Galactic's leader Cyrus. He was stone cold and looked as if he could break spines without a care.

The kind of man who walks upon bodies like golden streets and likes his hands covered in blood instead of empty.

When Lucas told Barry that he had gone into the base of Team Galactic he didn't leave out the panic attacks. The two made their way up the mountain with urgency but they still talked. Lucas and Barry found themselves giving strained laughs over the tightness in their chests. They had needed to grow alone but they were happier together.

When they reached the top of the mountain Barry was shaking with the urge to run. He was scared and he hated it. He had come up all this way and yet- when faced with the music the only thing he wanted to hear was the sound of his sneakers hitting the ground as he ran. 

Lucas wanted to freeze up. His whole body was trembling like a leaf by the time they were at the top. He knew that he'd have to fight the admins and the leader of the team. He knew that their eyes were like far away stars and each had a knife in their smile. They were all bite and no bark, ready to take down whatever stood in their way be it god's themselves.

In the end it was a god that stopped them. Something horrid screamed and black started to overtake the ground. The world bent and twisted in way's it shouldn't have and Barry felt like puking. Lucas couldn't move. A demon came up from the ground and proved itself far more horrifying than a professor or a cultists. 

It disappeared quickly and Lucas was half tempted to leave, to let the thing go back. It threatened everything however, and like always, he looked to Barry. He wished that Barry would do something, use that clever mouth or bright smile and make everything okay. Barry however was hunched over on himself and trying to keep tears out of his eyes. 

Lucas wished he could give Barry a smile that said "don't worry I'll fix this" but he couldn't bring himself to look anything other than pathetic. He had tears streaming down his eyes and he couldn't stop shaking. He had never been strong or brave and now wasn't the time to start. He clenched his jaw and took a shaky step forward. He moved towards the dark portal that shouldn't be there and felt like the earth was spinning far to fast.

He couldn't let the world end. If it meant going down into the lair of a demon and saving a man who wanted to end everything so be it. Barry had been strong for him so many times and it was up to him to return the favor. 

His feet were not stone and his eyes were not sharp but he stepped in anyways. He did not have to be cold to be strong.


End file.
